Forget It All
by Musique'deAmor
Summary: RM : We find ourselves lost in the aftermath of series 2 where everything is slowly falling apart. Somethings pulling Ryan and Marissa apart...but what? Rated M for future installments.
1. The Aftermath

Pulling the ribbons tightly around her ankles, she tenderly tied them in a bow before puling herself up so she was standing. It was the same old, usual kind of day. The brightly lit room, the warm, polished wooden floors, the walls of perfectly clean mirrors and the endless rows of ballet bars. It was all so perfect. So immaculately perfect that it made her sick to her stomach. But she couldn't show it. In such a harsh world, there was no room to be anything but flawless. So she rose onto her toes, making sure her shoes were on right, before dropping back onto the souls of her feet and taking her place at the ballet bar amongst the other members of the class.

Pulling her shoes from her feet, she breathed a sigh of release. Being on points for 3 hrs a day 5 days a week had been killing her feet. She pulled back the layers of bandages she'd wrapped around her toes before putting on her shoes, to find blood. It didn't faze her anymore. She simply grabbed some Betadine from her bag, some Band-Aids and a tissue, and tended to the wounds. Around her, the other girls were receiving warm hugs from the mothers or boyfriends, and heading home. Not her. She packed up her stuff and exited the building, waiting outside for her driver to arrive. When her car finally did pull up, she opened the door and stepped inside the fancy vehicle, before buckling her seatbelt. The long drives home were when she felt the loneliest. Clutching onto her mobile, she tried to resist the urge to call him. Every ride home she had this problem. It was then she missed him most. Not being able to control herself any more, she found herself dialing his number and raising the phone to her ear.

"Marissa?"

"Ryan...hey"

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah…I just.."

"Just what?"

His voice wasn't angry. It was more concerned. She hadn't called him for such a long time.

"I miss you Ryan"

There was a short silence. They could both hear each others breathing, and for her, that's all she needed to feel safe.

"I miss you too"

--

Pulling a singlet over his head, he headed for the kitchen. The smell of fresh bagels filled his senses as he entered the room. It was a dreary kind of morning. Rain clouds were gathering, and there was a cloudy kind of feeling about the day. Opening a cupboard and pulling a box of cereal from it, Ryan proceeded to make breakfast. Taking his usually seat at the bench, Ryan starred deep into the milk and cereal filled bowl, not knowing entirely what he was looking for. He could hear Seth and Sandy's murmurs from outside the room.

"I'm really starting to worry about him Seth"

"Yeah, me too. He's seems to be finding cereal more and more interesting each day"

"How about you boys go somewhere today, on me. Go see an Imax movie or something"

"I'll try, but last time I suggested we get out of the house I got one of those 'Are you crazy?' looks"

Not wishing for the conversation about him to continue, Ryan chimed in.

"I can hear you"

An awkward 'what do we do now' silence fell over the room. Seth, being the person he is, rudely interrupted it.

"So Ryan, how about we go somewhere today? You know go see an Imax movie or something?"

"Ummm…not today, maybe another time. I have a lot of school work to do"

"No offence Ryan, but how much school work can a person have?"

"Seth…"

Shooting Seth one of his "I'm this close to knocking you out'' looks, Ryan rose from his seat and placed his bowl in the sink.

"Maybe another day" Sandy suggested, before Ryan left the house and headed for the pool house.


	2. The New Best Friend

Wiping away the smudged mascara that lay under her eyes, Marissa tended to the same tear stained face she woke up to every morning. As much as she tried not to be, she was miserable. She was heartbreakingly lonely, and the only smidgen of company she had was her mum and the countless maids and such that littered their house. When her Step-Father had died, all of his wealth had been split evenly between her mum and his two daughters. That left them all pretty well off. Marissa however didn't care about the money or the huge house. All she cared about was that she physically ached to see Ryan again. But she knew that she wasn't going to see him for a very long time.

Her mother was always off on trips around the globe for various different work related reasons. She was a model agent and this time she was in France for 2 months for a promo trip.

Sliding open the top drawer of her dresser, Marissa pulled out what had become her best friend recently, her Vodka flask. She unscrewed the cap and slowly lifted the flask to her lips, before pouring a generous amount down her throat. Screwing her face up at the harsh taste, she wiped her lips and put the cap back on the flask, before placing it back in her dresser. Looking into the mirror in front of her, Marissa scowled. In reality, she'd lost a further 5kg from her already frail figure in the past month, but to her, it seemed like she'd gained 20. Pushing these thoughts into the back of her mind, she left her room, walking down the long spiraling stair case and into the landing. All these marble floors and crystal chandeliers, it was too much. Making her way into the kitchen, Marissa was greeted by the cook.

"What can I get you Madam?"

Marissa smiled kindly at the lady.

"It's alright, I'm not hungry, I just came to get a drink"

"Oh no. Miss Julie said you must eat whilst she's gone, so here, I made you some pancakes"

Marissa stared at the banquet of different kinds of pancakes that lay behind the cook.

"You didn't have to go to all this trouble"

"It's no problem Miss Marissa"

Taking a plate of the pancakes, Marissa smiled and left the room, placing the plate on the bottom step. She stared at it momentarily before picking it back up again and running up the stairs. Once inside her room, she placed the plate on her dresser and stared at it once more. Her body was starving, but her brain was telling her she didn't need to eat. Finally giving in to her body's desire, she ate pancake after pancake until the entire plate was empty. As she placed it back down on her dresser, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She couldn't stand it. In her eyes, she was severely overweight, but to the rest of the world, she was severely underweight. Running to her bathroom, Marissa shoved her fingers down her throat.

--

Step after step, breath after breath, Ryan continued his early morning run along the beach. It helped him release his anger. His path also led him to the lifeguard hut, where every morning he would sit and watch the sunrise, imagining she was there with him. And every morning he traced his fingers over the carving she'd made in the hard wood deck. 'R/M: Thank you'. To most that saw the indent, they would think of it in the most obvious way. Thanking someone. But to Ryan, it meant a whole lot more. When Marissa had first told him she loved him, he'd frozen. The only words that escaped his lips were 'Thank you'. When he'd finally been able to say those 3 little words to her, in a mocking tone she too replied with 'Thank you'. So to Ryan and Marissa, thank you was more than just gratitude.

"Dude, you really need to move on."

A voice invaded Ryan's thoughts, snapping him out of his fairy tale land.

"Huh?"

"Sorry, but whoever the chick is, she's not coming back"

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Ryan had no idea who the guy he was talking to was.

"No, but I come for a jog past this lifeguard hut every morning, and every morning you're here. Now from past experience I'd say, it never really ended. She just sorta left one day and didn't come back. She didn't explain why she left; you just came home one day to find her gone"

Ryan was baffled by how the guy had come to this conclusion.

"Not really. We got tangled up in some trouble with the police. It was either we both go to jail, or we were never to see each other ever again. If it was up to us we would have chosen prison, but her mum stepped in and they moved, to New York"

"Ouch, that's bad. What kind of trouble were you in?"

"A shooting. She shot my brother actually. If she hadn't he probably would have shot me though. He didn't die. I wish he had"

"Wow, that's harsh"

"He tried…he tried to rape her. He completely screwed up her life"

"Oh"

An awkward silence overcame the two.

"I'm Johnny by the way"

"Ryan"

"Well I haven't seen you around school, so I'm guessing you go to Harbour?"

"Yeah. You go to Union?"

"Yeah"


	3. The Argument

"Marissa sweetheart? Are you in there? I'm home"

"Come in mum"

Marissa groaned. Her mother wasn't supposed to be home for another 3 weeks. Pulling the bed covers up under her chin, Marissa closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable arrival of her mother.

"I was worried about you. The cook said you hadn't been eating much and your ballet teacher called and said you hadn't been to a lesson in over a month"

Her mother sat down on the edge of the bed, picking up a stuffed toy and brushing its fur lightly with her hands.

"I've just been really busy with school work. And that's what I want to focus on right now"

"That's the other thing. After your ballet teacher called, I rang the school to ask them if anything had happened and they said you hadn't shown up at school for 3 weeks. Marissa, hun, what's going on?"

"Nothing mum, I just don't feel like going to school right now"

"Marissa, you're a Cooper, any chance we get to show off our new clothes, we take it. There's something more to this"

"You wanna know why I've been skipping school and ballet classes? I'm the freak from Orange County who shot someone. It's not exactly the easiest thing to have pinned to your forehead when you're trying to make friends"

"Marissa, you would've had the same problem in Newport. People judging you, sniggering behind your back"

"Yeah, but at least back home, I had my friends. And Ryan"

"So this is what this whole things about, you're still mad at me for making you move away from that good for nothing-"

"Don't your dare talk about Ryan like that!!!!"

Marissa was yelling now. She'd pulled herself from her bed and was standing as far away from her mother she could get without actually leaving the room.

"He's what got you into this mess Marissa!"

"No mum, I'm what got me into this mess! "

"Marissa…"

"No, I'm sick of you accusing Ryan of ruining my life. He saved my life. Remember Oliver Mum. Oh, and have you forgotten about the little overdose incident in TJ"

By now Marissa was screaming. She was on emotion overload, fighting to hold back the tears.

"Marissa, hun, settle down"

"NO!! And just to remind you what caused the TJ incident. You and Luke. You leaving dad because he lost all your precious money. And Luke, remember him. My ex-boyfriend that you SLEPT with!!!!"

After screaming the finals words of her last sentence, Marissa couldn't hold back any longer. Tears ran freely from her eyes, smudging her already tear-ruined eyeliner. Taking several deep breaths, Marissa gained enough control to be able speak soft, but intensely again.

"I wish I'd shot you instead of Trey"

Pushing past her mother, Marissa ran out of her room, down the staircase and out the front door, leaving her mother standing in her bedroom, utterly gob smacked at the scene that'd just unfolded.

--

Pulling his phone from his back pocket, Ryan glanced at the name that appeared on the screen. Summer. Pressing talk, Ryan lifted the phone to his ear.

"Summer?"

"Ryan, thank god you picked up. Marissa's on her way"

"On her way where?"

"Here!!! Newport!! She got in a massive fight with her mum and she has no where else to go. She on the plane right now!"

"Is she alright? What was the fight about?"

"Well, err…you."

"Oh…is she staying with you?"

"Yeah. She sounded really upset. And I mean, her and her mum have had some pretty big arguments, but never this big. She said they stared arguing in her room after her mum asked her why she hadn't gone to school whilst she'd been away, then she walked out of the house to cool off and her mum came running after her and screamed at her in the street"

"When does she get here?"

"Her plane lands at 5"

"Ok, I'll meet you at the airport then"

"Ryan, you can't. What if someone sees. Everyone around here knows what happened"

"Ok, well, I'll come over later tonight. Just call me when you get home"

"I'll try"

Running into the house, Ryan headed for Sandy's study.

"Ryan, whoa, what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I need to ask some advice"

"Sure, have a seat"

Ryan took a seat in front of Sandy's desk and prepared in his mind what he was going to say.

"I need some legal advice"

"What about?"

"Marissa. She's on a plane to Newport as we speak. Her mum and her got into a big fight and she doesn't know anyone in New York, so she got on a plane and she's headed here"

"I see, and you want to see her"

"Not in public, I know that'd be too risky, but I can't know that she's here and not go see her"

"Ryan, as your attorney, I suggest you just stay away. If you get caught, it could put you in danger of going to jail for disobeying the courts orders"

"So you're saying I should just pretend she's not here?"

"As your attorney, yes. As a member of your family, I say go see her, but be very careful about it. You know what this place is like. People talk. And as I'm guessing she's staying at Summer's house, you'll have to be extra careful, because Dr. Roberts is more than likely going to have clients there, and you know what kind of people go see plastic surgeons. Noopsies"

"Ok, thank you Sandy"


	4. The Arrival

Ducking between the flocks of people, Marissa searched the airport for site of Summer.

"Coop!!"

Marissa turned around, and there she stood. Her best friend, Summer Roberts. The 5 foot, brown hair vixen ran directly towards her, wrapping her arms around Marissa waist and burying her in a friendly hug.

"It's so good to see you"

"Oh you have no idea"

Summer stepped back from the hug, grabbing Marissa's hands as he did so.

"I've missed you Coop"

"I've missed you too Sum"

A comfortable silence overcame them as Marissa picked up her shoulder bag and began to follow Summer to the car.

"Thanks for letting me stay on such short notice"

"It's no problem. Anything for my best bud aye"

"Thanks"

The ride home was comfortably silent. When they reached Summers house, Marissa pulled herself slowly from the passenger seat and onto the driveway.

"Nothings changed here" Marissa commented.

"Yeah, it's all the same"

Finally reaching Summers bedroom, Marissa fell back on her bed and let out a deep breath.

"I've missed this place so much. You have no idea how boring New York is"

"Come on Coop, New York, boring, think of all those shops"

"Yeah, but shopping by yourself isn't very fun"

"Haven't you made any friends?"

Looking to her hands, She shook her head.

"Not one?"

Once again, she shook her head. It hurt her a lot that she hadn't made a single friend. It hurt so bad that she was so lonely in New York, when so many people cared for back in Newport. She took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears in, but she just couldn't hold back any longer. They came tumbling from her eyes like rivers. Summer reached an arm around her and pulled her into a hug.

"Coop. I hate seeing you like this. What's happened to make things so bad you had to leave?"

"I can't stand it there. I live in a huge house, basically all by myself. I have no friends, no one to talk to. I spend 3 hours after school each day at those god damn ballet lessons that mum makes me take, and then I get driven home by a driver I've never seen. I come home, go to my room and cry myself to sleep. I can't stop thinking about how much I miss you and Ryan and even Seth. How much I miss having friends, having a life. How much I hate my mum, and how she's screwed my life up. I stopped going to school and ballet lessons when mum went over to Paris for one of her work things. There was no point. I was failing school, and ballet bored the heck out of me. I've spoken to Ryan 3 times since I moved. That's 3 times in 7 months. I miss him so bad Sum. And you know the worst part. Even though I'm here, I still can't see him, coz we'll get caught. And I miss not having you around"

"Aww Coop, cheer up. It can't be that bad"

"Your right Sum, it's worse"

--

"Come on, call. She's gotta be here by now"

Pacing around the pool house, Ryan couldn't stop himself from starring at his phone, waiting for Summer to call. As if she could read his thoughts, the phone started to ring. He ran towards it immediately, and picked it up.

"Summer!"

"Chino, calm down..."

"I'll be right over!!"

"No Ryan, just wait. I'm not sure if now's the right time. She's really upset And I can just see those busy bodies across the street, peeking through their windows, their fingers ready to dial the cops if you turn up."  
"I don't care, she's in Newport, I can't just pretend she's not here."

"Look, how about I see if she wants to talk to you on the phone and we'll go from there?"

"Ok"

There were a few moments of silence, before a softer voice flowed through the speakers on Ryan's phone.

"Ry?"

"Riss, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine"

"Really?"

An awkward silence overcame the pair, only to be broken by the faint sound of sobbing coming from Marissa's end.

"Marissa?"

"Why did she have to make me move? I hate it there!!"

"Have you not made any friends?"

"It's not exactly easy to make friends at St. Margaret's in the beginning, let alone being the kid from Orange County who shot someone. Everyone's too bothered about the way they look to even give me a chance. There's only been like 1 person who has actually spoken to me at school, and that was someone trying to get me to shoot someone for them"

Another awkward silence overcame the pair.

"Can I come see you?"

Ryan was shocked. He didn't expect her to be so forward.

"I thought I'd come see you"

"I don't want Summer to get in trouble for hosting criminals. Maybe we can meet some place mutual?"

"How about you just come to the pool house? You can sneak around the back; Sandy and Kirsten don't even have to know you're here"

"Are you sure?"

"Certain"

"Okay, I'll be there soon"


End file.
